Why couldn't all of his grandparents just get along? They were family, weren't they?

He glanced over at Chloe, still curled up in the corner.

Then again, he'd learnt at an early age that family didn't always care about each other. Didn't even pretend, sometimes.

At least all of his grandparents had the decency to remember his name.

(Johnny serves his ballotins to everyone)

Emil: Coal? A northern specialty, isn't it? So, then you eat it?

Johnny: Bah! That's not coal, that's my ballotins!

(Milly tries to cut hers with a knife and fork, but it ends up flying off her plate, and ricocheting all across the room, almost hitting Marinette and Adrien as it launches into the kitchen.)

Milly: Oops…(She gets really embarrassed and continues to jab at the remaining ones with her fork)

(Marinette helps Adrien back into her seat and whispers to Adrien)

Marientte: Let me handle it.

Adrien: (quietly shouts) Marinette, no!

(Milly finally figures out how to open the ballotin with the crab cracker, looking quite pleased with herself.)

Emil: Arg! Milly! (slams his fists on the table) Are you seriously going to taste this horror?! (Johnny, for the first time, starts to look a little angry.)

Milly: It looks like there's still something edible inside

Emil: Very well, then, poison yourself if you want to, but I don't want to hear a peep out of you!

"I hate 'Lord' Emil more with every word he says," Alya muttered, making finger quotes around his title. "It's not as if he was letting her talk anyway. Man, how miserable must being married to that man be? If I'd been forced into a marriage with that man, he would've ended up being mysteriously and tragically poisoned within a year."

"And I would've helped you do it," Nino grimaced. "Or at least helped bury the body."

Alya smiled. "Aw, babe…!"

He glanced over at Marinette. Would she be willing to bury a body for him?

…who was he kidding, she'd probably poison the person hurting him before he got the chance to ask.

…was it disturbing that he was so certain of that?

(As Emil is talking, Plagg phases through Emil's plate, much to Adrien's shock as Plagg eats one of the ballotin and then disappears)

Emil: Getting back to the topic at hand, Adrien! (Adrien immediately looks to Emil) Hand me the Graham's twin rings.

(Marinette looks absolutely horrified by Lord Graham's demand, and that horror grows as she sees Adrien sadly remove the rings and places them on the table. However, just as Emil is about to take them…)

Milly: Oh my! Incredible!

Emil: (Glares at his wife) I don't believe this- Silence! (Slams his fists on the table) Milly: (Ignored him) What is this filled with?!

Gabrielle: Marsol

Johnny: It's a fromage.

Milly: Oh! (giggle)

Johnny: (Gets worried) What is it? You're not allergic, I hope! (Immediately stands up) Gabrielle! Start the bike! We're taking you to the hospital!

Milly: (Chuckles and calms them down) No, no, it's all right! (Adrien freaks out as Plagg continues to eat his grandparent's food right under their noses) It's just so so delicious!

Emil: Milly, be a dear and suffer in silence, as you're used to doing so well. (Emil's condemnation immediately causing Milly's mood to sour as she looks down depressed) As I was saying, it's time Adrien and the twin ring came back to u-(He reaches for the ring only to see it missing. Marinette notices it missing as well and gasps in horror)

Emil: Adrien! Where is the twin ring?!

Adrien: I-I gave back to you, Lord Graham.

(Emil searched the whole table for the ring, and then looks up to see Johnny smirking smugly at him)

Emil: (narrows his eyes) You.

Johnny: (Frowns) What?! You?

Milly: Are you not eating your ballotins, Emil?

(Emil slaps the plate over towards his wife and yells at Johnny)

Emil: Give me back the ring!

Johnny: Oh, I see. So, now you're calling me a thief, huh?!

Marinette: (Using a bad British accent) Hold on! Let's not get carried away. (Marinette frantically looks for the rings) (mutters) It has to be here somewhere!

(Just then Plagg appears, on top of Adrien's plate, causing Adrien to try to catch him, inadvertently getting his grandparent's attention)

Adrien: I…uh…I'll look for it too! The twin ring. (He looks in his hands, only to see that Plagg escaped.) Not here…(Checks under the plate) not here either… (Checks under table)... (While Adrien is distracted, Milly steals his place)

"All this fuss over a ring? Or a couple of rings?" Marinette wondered. "I know it's a family heirloom, but still. Emil's acting like custody of the rings is even more important than deciding Adrien's custody."

He shook his head. "Some people are just like that. I can't say I understand it. The only thing I treasure to anywhere near that extent…"

Did he bring it with him?

He felt around in his pockets.

Yes! There it was!

"-is this," he finished, bringing out the Lucky Charm Marinette had gifted to him a couple months ago.

She squeaked. "You still have that?!"

"Of course! It was given to me by someone I really care about. That makes it precious." He winked at her.

The sound she made sounded like a mix between a tea kettle and a dying Chihuahua.

"Maybe the rings remind Emil of his parents?" he continued. Marinette would recover in time. Presumably.

"It's possible," Alya said begrudgingly. "But he doesn't really seem like the type. I'm betting it's less that the rings remind him of a particular person, and more that they seem to be a symbol of his family's wealth and power. He certainly seems like the type to care a lot about those, and maybe even more importantly, to care about the appearance of having those. I'm not surprised that he's more concerned about the rings than he is about you."

He winced.

"His loss," Nino declared, putting a hand on his shoulder. "My dude is more valuable than any crusty old ring. If that guy can't see it, then he's the worse for it."

He smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Nino."

Regardless of what happened with his family, at least he had his friends.

Emil: No one is leaving this room until the ring is recovered and in the meantime, you are going to sign this contract that will one, give me full custody of Adrien, and two, assure me that you will never try to see him again!

(Marinette is horrified as Johnny grows enraged. Gabrielle grows terrified)

Gabrielle: That's monstrous! Why would you want to keep us from seeing this poor kitten that we only just met!?

(As the argument is going down, Adrien is desperately trying to get hold of Plagg before he's spotted)

Johnny: Listen up, "milord". If Adrien should go with someone, that someone is going to be us! And definitely not a mean monsieur, like yourself!

Nino raised a fist. "Hear, hear! See, Johnny and Gabrielle are cool dudes, unlike him," he looked scornfully at Emil.

"I wonder whether Father would let me contact his parents. I'd really like to get to know them."

Probably not. He never had before.

"We should be able to get ahold of them even without Gabriel's help," Alya said thoughtfully. "I'm sure there are some records we can use to find their address. You might not be able to go to them, but we might be able to get them to come to you. Or at least get you two each other's contact information. You might be able to use a webcam to talk to them. Does your father monitor your internet usage?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. It seemed like the sort of thing that Father might do, but he doubted he cared enough to micromanage that sort of thing, especially with how busy he always was. "If he was, Nathalie would almost certainly be the one to do it."

"She seems chill. Maybe we can get her to look the other way? Or even help?"

He thought about it for a moment. "...maybe. I– I think it's worth a try."

He'd never get anywhere if he didn't push boundaries. If he hadn't run away to school, he'd never have gotten to attend, or become a superhero, or meet his friends. Getting to meet his grandparents was worth risking Father's disapproval.

(Outside, Nathalie and Placide clearly look worried and upset as the argument within the dining room gets louder)

Milly: (tries to calm her husband down, her voice slurring slightly) Emil, darling, what do we care about this ring and all these antiquated customs, really?

Emil: Milly, for pity's sake, stay in your place!

(Milly cracks and swallows another ballotin, her cheeks now flushed, and her anger rising)

Milly: (Tiredly mutters) …Why do you scream all the time?

"That poor woman…" Alya muttered.

He had to agree. How long had she had to endure this man? He hoped that Emil was as absent from her life as his Father was from his.

…that sounded worse than he'd intended it to.

If he really was dead–!

No, no. He couldn't be dead. He must just be embezzling funds or something, and that's why he lost parental rights. That was all. He wasn't actually out of his life entirely. Just… not physically present right at this moment. That's it.

Marinette: (clearly having enough of Emil's attitude, carries over a tray of drinks and "accidently" spills them all over the table, ruining the contract) (In a bad British accent) Oopies! Sorry, I'm such a clutz

Emil: (Simply replaces the ruined copy with an extra and carries on) I understand clearly, how much do you want? (And pulls out a checkbook)

Johnny: (Furious) You can keep your money! We didn't want it 16 years ago, and we don't want it today, either!

(Milly angrily cracks another ballotin, and sucks it down, clearly starting to look drunk, as her eyes start to fog over)

Emil: Stop this charade already. You just want to raise the bit. Name your price now and be done with it.

Johnny: I'm not charading! You're charading! You don't think I know what you've been up to this whole time! Come on! Be honest! Tell us all why you REALLY want us to sign this contract! (Slams his fist on the table)

Willy: (Crakes and sucks down yet another ballotin angerily, her blush now speading across her face, as she loses balance and focus) (No longer muttering) Woof woof, It's always about who can growl the loudest.

Emil: Don't pretend that you realise just how shameful it would be if people knew that Adrien's other grandparents were…were… (Johnny glares at him)

Johnny: Well, what?! Come on, say it!

Emil: …were the owners of a fried food establishment!

Johnny: So what? What's the problem? The Grassettes have been in the french fry, then the Grahams have had a broomstick on the crest! My ancestors have served cornets of fries with a piggy sauce to Pétain, himself!

"Yes, we have a last name!" Alya cheered. "And we even know their line of work! That should be more than enough info to find them."

"Have their family really been serving fries for that long?" He wondered. "I'm pretty sure the Graham de Vanilys have been nobility since the 1700s at least. Otherwise they couldn't have been involved with the Kingdom of France. Petain wasn't even born until the 1850s. Plus fries are made from potatoes, which originated in the Americas." He shook his head. "There's just no way the Grassettes have been making fries for longer than the Graham de Vanilys have been aristocrats."

The rest of the class stared at him.

He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm really good at history. The stories of all those different people, how lives intertwined, and how they affect things today… it's fascinating."

"Do you want to be a historian when you're older?" Alya asked curiously.

He hummed. "I… don't think so? It's interesting enough, but I don't feel compelled to study it in my free time." What little of it he had, anyway.

Milly: (Cracks open another ballotin) Woof, woof, who cares about any of that.

Emil: And you stop busting everyone's ballotins! (He smacks the Ballotin right out of Milly's hand just as she was about to suck it down) It's absolutely revoluting!

Milly: (Finally snaps, and slams her hands on the table, standing up) Stop barking at me!

(Just then, Emil spots the twin ring in front of his wife, but his wife excitedly spots it as well and grabs it first)

Milly: Oh! Lucky me!

Emil: (Snatches it out of her hand) Give me that!

Johnny: (Leaps over the table to grab the ring) That belongs to the kiddo, not you! Emil: (Hold it away) Hands off!

(While everyone is distracted, Adrien finally manages to get her hands on Plagg)

(Marriette then sneaks up behind Emil and starts tickling his side, causing him to laugh uncontrollably. This makes Emil drop the rings, causing them to roll across the table. Marinette runs after them, but an intoxicated Milly gets to them first.

Milly: (Giggles) Mine! (She runs out of the dining room, where Placade and Nathalie are trying to listen in. She runs right past them, giggling like a manic, and locks herself in Gabriel's study.)

Emil: Milly, get back here this instant! Milly! MILLY!(He tries to open the door.) (Meanwhile, in the dining room)

Adrien: Plagg! Get a hold of yourself! (Holds him tightly)

Plagg: I can't! Ballotins are too delicious!

(Back in the entrance)

Emil: Milly! Stop trying to be the center of attention and come out of there at once!

Milly: No! (An Akuma is flying towards her.) I'm tired of two-bit, aristocratic, patriarchal dictators! (Milly puts on the ring and continues ranting as the Akuma draws closer.) I have the ring! I'm the queen! No one tells me what to do!

"Honestly, go her," Alya said warmly. "After putting up with that crap for who knows how many years? She deserves to crash out."

"Was she getting drunk on cheese?" Ivan wondered. "I didn't know you could do that, but she looked just like my dad did after he'd been drinking for awhile. All red-faced, overexcited, and slurry."

"Maybe the cheese had some alcohol in it?" Max proposed. "There is something called beer cheese, which is made with alcohol. Typically most of the alcohol burns off during the cooking process, but Johnny might have cooked it in a way that didn't allow that to happen."

He grimaced. Great. So not only was Plagg eating a ton of cheese he wasn't supposed to, he was eating spiked cheese. Maybe that was why he was being so reckless.

Who was he kidding? Plagg didn't need an excuse to be like this. Not when cheese was involved.